Selachians Extraordifiary 267 



foure houres had so swollen his hand, arme and shoulder we all with 

 much sorrow concluded his funerall, and prepared his grave on an 

 island near the mouth of the Rappahannock River by himself directed; 

 yet it pleased God, by a precious oyle Dr. Russell at the first applyed 

 to it with a probe, ere night his tormenting paine was so well asswaged 

 that he eate of the fishe to his supper." 



Stingers are such good defensive weapons that man has used them 

 for that purpose. Spears tipped by one or more stingers have been used 

 by A4alayans, natives of many Pacific islands, hunters in South and 

 Central American Indian tribes, and Australian aborigines. Frightful 

 whips made from the thorny, stinger-bearing tails of an African type 

 of Sting ray have been seen by explorers along the Congo and in tropical 

 West Africa. In Ceylon, Sting ray tails were used, until recent times, 

 as whips for punishing criminals. They were also used in the Seychelles 

 Archipelago of the Indian Ocean to keep wives in order! 



Sting rays are known and feared throughout the world. Huge schools 

 of them invade many Australian beaches. They lie in the sand near 

 shore, and when the tides retreat, the Sting rays (called Stingarees in 

 Australia) also retreat, leaving behind numerous depressions in the wet 

 sand. In 1938 an 18-year-old girl was killed in Auckland, Australia, 

 when she was struck by a Stingaree whose sting, whipped by its power- 

 ful tail, stabbed her left thigh— and then her heart. 



Some 30 species are known, all armed with one or more poisonous 

 spines in their whip-like tails. Most Sting rays bear only a single sting, 

 but several have two, or even three or more. The point, which may be 8 

 to 15 inches long, is covered by a thin sheath that is pushed back toward 

 its base when it is thrust into a victim. 



The stinger is hard and stiletto-shaped, with a sharp point. Its edge 

 is fringed with tiny barbs that point back toward the base of the sting. 

 Thus, when it enters, the barbs hold it in the wound and thwart easy 



This tail of a Spotted Duck-billed ray (Aetohatus narinari) bears 4 stings. The ray 

 was captured off Beaufort, North Carolina. This ray often has more than one sting, 

 each of which can inflict a venomous wound. Photo, E. w. Gudger 



